Originally published in MENAbytes, March 2018 Blockchain is synonymous with Bitcoin in many peoples’ minds, though that misperception is swiftly disappearing – due in no small part to the interest in blockchain from across the financial sector. Blockchain has the potential to significantly disrupt the financial services industry, at a product and service level, and…

Originally published in Gulf Business, February 2018 Blockchain is a synonym for bitcoin in many peoples’ minds, though that distracting misperception is swiftly changing – as shown by the number of organisations racing to harness the power of blockchain’s many different applications. One constant remains true though – everyone is talking about blockchain technology. To…

Originally published in CXO Today, February 2018 The past one year has been a significant leap for the mainstreaming of digital payments in India. Owing to a wide multitude of initiatives taken by both the government and the private sector, 2017 witnessed an unprecedented push towards cashless payments. Furthermore, the year’s demonetization drive gave a…

Originally published in MENAbytes, 3 February 2018 Ever the noisy one at the party, the headline-grabbing cryptocurrency rollercoaster grabs all the attention. But it’s the blockchain technology that underpins that has the potential to make some phenomenal changes to the way that we do business. These are early days, and blockchain is not without issues…

Originally published in Entrepreneur India, January 2018 The financial technology industry has been soaring in India, kept abuzz throughout 2017 with a continuous flow of prominent developments by the public and private sector alike. With the implementation of initiatives such as demonetization, Jan Dhan Yojana and UPI, the Government has provided significant direct and…

Originally published in YourStory, 10 January 2018 Back in 2009, as the 2008 global financial meltdown unfolded, cryptocurrencies – and by extension, the Blockchain technology – made their first appearance. Positioned from the outset as an alternative to traditional banking mechanisms, Blockchain raised the possibility of a revolution in the world of financial technology, and…

Social commerce: the next big thing in payments? Originally published in CXOtoday.com, 12 December 2017 As of today, Facebook hosts 2 billion monthly active users, Whatsapp has made inroads to over 1.2 billion, while nearly 700 million are active on Instagram, and the Twitter bird has caught the fancy of over 328 million users. The…

Is the UAE retail sector ready to go cashless? Originally published in Startup Scene ME, 15 November 2017 The concept of ‘cashless payments’ is on the rise, due in no small part to the convenience and security that it brings both retailers and consumers, compared to traditional payment methods. A significant factor in the adoption…

Spreading the word on cashless transactions Originally published in Gulf News, 31 October 2017 Cashless payments and transactions are on the rise, driven by customer convenience and efficiency. Forty-one per cent of consumers anticipate conducting all transactions through a mobile wallet within five years, according to a recent survey by Ubamarket. Digital commerce and cashless…

Acceptance of e-payments: boosting sales of MSMEs Originally published in YourStory, October 2017 While the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector forms the backbone of the Indian economy, it continues to remain and operate offline, despite the surge of digitisation sweeping across the nation. According to the joint study shared by KPMG and Google,…